Terminator: Full Circle
by DM94
Summary: A prequel to the first Terminator movie, follows Kyle Reese in the final days before he is sent through time. As he reflects on his life so far, Kyle is finally sent on the mission he's been groomed for.
1. Chapter 1

Terminator:

Full circle

Ch.1

Kyle Reese sat in his quarters, examining the photograph which he had memorized, every last curve. The year was 2027, nine years after he was inducted into the resistance. After the events of 2018, in which he had forged an alliance with the now famed half-man half-terminator Marcus Wright, Kyle had quickly shot through the ranks. He was in Perry`s unit, along with sergeant Perry himself, a ballistics and demolition expert, and Luna, best sniper in the whole of the resistance. The three of them operated as Connor`s elite task force. They were famous for completing missions that other squads couldn`t pull off on their best of days.

Suddenly, a blast rang through the air, shockwaves shaking the whole bunker. Skynet had found them, like it always did. Kyle quickly suited up, positioning all his armor as he had done time after time. He tucked the photo which Connor had given him so long ago in the same place he always had, a good luck charm of sorts. He grabbed his favorite weapon, a phased plasma rifle with a 40-wat range, and sprung into action. As he left his room, the situation was worse than he had thought. Perry and Luna were pinned under heavy fire, taking cover and firing at the oncoming swarm of T-800 endos. As a sniper, Luna wasn`t very skilled at these face-to-face confrontations. Perry yelled "Reese! Get over here!" Kyle quickly responded by jumping into the mix, returning fire most skillfully as he had done so many times before. Soon the attacking force had suffered heavy losses, and victory seemed nigh. However, as Luna came out from her cover spot to deliver a kill shot to one of the oncoming hoard, a single plasma bullet ripped through her heart, killing her instantly. She fell to the ground, her body now limp. Devastated, Kyle screamed "Luna! No!" He fell at her side, weeping for his dead team mate. Suddenly, the wall before them crumbled as a ground HK entered the space.

"Kyle, get out of here" said Perry, "I'll finish this." Kyle looked and saw Perry, holding a det-pack. "But sir, you`ll…" "Go, Reese! That`s an order!" snapped Perry, asserting his authority. Not one to disobey direct orders, Kyle grabbed Luna's body and high-tailed it out of there, using the back exit. After allowing enough time for Kyle to escape, Perry peaked over the chunk of ceiling behind which he was positioned, seeing the HK getting closer and closer. As Kyle put more and more distance between himself and the bunker, Sergeant Perry activated the det-pack and threw it at the oncoming machines. The explosion was heard for many miles as the bunker collapsed behind Reese.

Kyle jumped out of bed, gasping for air. That had been two years earlier, it was now 2029, and Reese had been haunted by the memory of that day ever since.

-Author`s note:

this chapter (and the next one, which will soon be posted) is kinda short, story will pick up I promise!

this is my very first entry on this site, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

The events of that day in 2027 changed everything for Kyle. Sergeant Perry miraculously survived the explosion, losing his legs in the process. This did not keep him from walking however, as a pair of T-800 legs were salvaged from the wreckage and used to replace his lost appendages. As joyful as all this news was, nothing could help Kyle to forget Luna. She had liked him, that was something any child could see, but he had never returned her affection. This was because he had grown so fond of the woman in the picture. He knew not who she was, only that Connor had given it to him that day in 2018 and told him that she would be his greatest mission, someday… he often looked into those eyes and wondered what she was thinking at the moment the picture had been taken. She looked sad, as if she saw a great storm on the horizon.

The day after the 2027 attack, Kyle was drafted into Connor`s personal security team, whilst Perry was sent to command another unit. He remembered overhearing the argument:

"I want Kyle to come with me" Barked Perry.

"No" Connor had replied, quite simply.

"He`s not ready" Perry said, trying hard to reinforce his point.

"Don`t give me that, Perry. He`s been training with you for nine years, that would whip anyone into shape," replied Connor, "and besides I was always planning to draft him in 2029 anyway."

"Look Connor, everyone knows Reese is your golden boy and that you`re grooming him for some big mission, but…"

"Stop, Perry. My decision is final. You`ll get your new assignment in the morning." John Connor never had trouble ending a conversation with authority and precision.

And so Reese joined Connor`s personal troop, and life had gone on for the past two years.

As Reese sat in his room reminiscing, Katherine, Connor`s bride and second in command of the whole resistance, burst into the room. "My husband requests your presence, briefing room." Kyle groaned and then got up. There were several reasons why one would be called to general John Connor`s briefing room, but it almost always meant a new mission. He and Kate began the long walk down the corridors, and as they walked his thoughts turned once again to Luna. She was now dead, and he had ignored her all that time because of the woman in the picture. But he may never meet that woman. She could be much older now or even worse dead. That was the worst part of all, not knowing what could have happened. Could Luna have been the love of his life, one that he could now never have? No more time to reflect now, they had arrived. John Connor stood there, that same old look of seriousness on his face, a look which seemed frozen thereon his face for the rest of his life.

Author`s note:

again sorry these first 2 chapters are kinda short and this one didn`t have any action but setup is important after all!


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3

Once again Kyle found himself face-to-face with John Connor. The man, about 45, was about Kyle`s height, with a large scar crossing down the side of his face, a memento from 2018, in which some terminator prototype had scratched him. But perhaps his most peculiar features were his eyes, which for some reason…were familiar to Kyle. He had seen them before but on someone else. And yet for some reason he could not place them. Connor had dark hair, which had grown darker and darker as he aged but was now showing signs of graying. He wore standard camouflage and a bullet-proof vest. Behind him was a digital display of the earth projected onto a screen. Kyle quickly saluted him, saying "General Connor, how may I help you sir?" the one thing Kyle hated about military life was the formalities. "At ease, Reese." Connor said as he pressed a button on his control, causing the virtual earth display to zoom in on a specific point. "A few months ago," he said, "an elite unit of resistance fighters gave their lives on a top-secret mission, allowing us to hack a skynet satellite, our own eye in the sky."

Kyle responded, "And I'm guessing that we`ve spotted something."

"Yes" said Connor, "we began to notice heavy supply routes leading from skynet central to a remote location in the Rocky Mountains. Transport convoys taking raw materials of all kinds…we don`t know what is going on at that location, but skynet is obviously plotting something big. We believe that a single, well-trained soldier could infiltrate the security grid and scope out the location, and, if necessary, wreck up the place. Naturally, being the best we have, you are that soldier."

Kyle sat there, processing all the information he had just received. Finally, he responded, "So you have reason to believe there is a skynet base at that place, but other than that you have no intel whatsoever, therefore I am walking into an unknown situation, which is more than likely an elaborate trap of some sort."

Connor was used to Kyle`s unconventional demeanor, and sarcastically said "Yep. Just an average day for you, after all."

"No problem, sounds like a cake walk." Said Kyle, smiling as he said it.

Kate just shook her head. In a world recovering from a nuclear/technological apocalypse, the men still spent their time being smart-asses. John had arranged Kyle`s transportation, and so after a good night`s sleep, Kyle sped off via helicopter. The pilot, an old military veteran named Tex, was exceptionally well skilled with the helicopter, as it had come in much handy during the events of desert storm. Looking down at his radar, Kyle said "Stop here. Any closer and their scanners will pick us up." Tex quickly stopped the chopper in mid-air and then hovered down, landing in a ravine on the side of the mountain opposite the facility. The skynet scanners wouldn`t penetrate the deep mountain, a major weakness in the base`s placement. At first, Kyle simply thought to himself that no base was perfect, and that even skynet, a highly sophisticated computer program, couldn`t be expected to find an absolutely flawless location. Still, this was an obvious mistake, one a computer would be bound to catch. This felt like a trap. From that location there was a simple path that within five minutes put the enemy compound into Kyle`s sights. Kyle switched on his communication device and radioed into Connor, saying "this is Kyle Reese, enemy fortitude in direct sight, over."


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

The enemy encampment looked like a huge metal wall built onto the side of the mountain, meaning there must be an elaborate cave system within the mount. Reese`s radio buzzed as Connor replied:

"Ok Reese. Do you see any way of entry, over?"

"Oh, I`ve got a plan" said Kyle, "I`ll radio back in when I'm inside, over."

"Copy that." Connor said.

John switched off his radio, waiting for Reese to radio back in. A young lieutenant, sitting chained at resistance base for going AWOL, sneered at Connor, "You military officials make me sick, sending one soldier in on a dangerous mission, one which requires a full-force attack."

"I would never send him on a mission if I didn`t think he was absolutely capable of completing it." Connor replied.

"Yeah right!" barked the man, "I know your type. You have plenty more men just as qualified as him, and if he dies, what would you lose?"

Connor looked the man right in the eyes, staring deep into the man`s soul. "You have no idea." He said, and after that moment, the soldier who had given up on his fellow man never questioned John`s motives again.

At that moment Kyle saw his chance. An oncoming skynet transport was carrying raw materials into the compound. Kyle quickly leapt from the small ledge on which he sat perched and onto the transport. As the huge vehicle moved along, he saw the huge facility coming closer into view. Within minutes, he was within the base. He ducked into the shadows just as a huge automatic crane began unloading the transport. Kyle quickly surveyed his surroundings, mapping the area out in his head and spotting as many of the guards as humanly possible. He then proceeded to pull out his radio and re-connect with base. "Connor, this is Reese. I`m inside the enemy encampment, over."

"Copy that, Reese. Any idea what the place is, over?" asked Connor.

"Not yet, I'll scope out, over." answered Reese.

As Reese turned around, he found himself face-to-face with a large metal box. There was no window for him to see inside it. "Uhh, Connor," said Kyle, "I`ve found something. Looks like a storage crate of some sort, over."

"What`s in it, over?" asked John.

"I don`t know. It`s a huge metal box, no windows just a sealed door and a model number, over."

John`s voice suddenly got nervous. "What number?" he asked.

Kyle could tell Connor was disturbed because he forgot to say "over". Kyle began reading the number aloud to Connor. "T-101…"

"Get away from it!" Connor yelled, "Just try to find a computer console and learn about the place."

"Roger that" said Kyle, who (while avoiding the guards) quickly made his way to just such a console.

"Looks like a research and development lab." Said Kyle, "they`re working on a number of skynet projects."

"Have they finished any of those projects?" asked Connor.

"Just one. I`ll see if I can find out what it is."

Reese was a fairly good hacker. You had to be when skynet was your enemy. He searched the system, looking for that particular file. Finally, he had it. As he read over the document, he was filled with disbelief.

"Did you figure it out yet?" asked Connor.

"You wouldn`t believe me if I told you." Was Reese`s response.

"Try me."

"Well," Kyle said, stumbling over the words, "this thing says that skynet has perfected a form of… time displacement technology."

And that`s when all hell broke loose.

Author`s note:

Sorry for the cliff-hanger here I'm working on a bit of an action sequence but I don`t have it quite figured out yet…


	5. Chapter 5

Ch.5

"Did you figure it out yet?" asked Connor.

"You wouldn`t believe me if I told you." Was Reese`s response.

"Try me."

"Well," Kyle said, stumbling over the words, "this thing says that skynet has perfected a form of… time displacement technology."

And that`s when all hell broke loose. Some file-some insignificant click on the console pad, accidentally activated the skynet security protocols. The console screen began to flash red as the sirens blazed and the guards began to swarm the area. Kyle quickly blasted the speakers, hoping to silence the siren. This succeeded, but the enemy was already afoot. Kyle saw the T-800`s coming down the corridor, and swiftly removed a tiny mini-disk from the console. This disk had saved everything he had seen, an old trick he had learned long ago, out of necessity. Tucking the disk into a compartment on his combat vest, he readied his plasma rifle and destroyed the console. As soon as the approaching endos had him in their sights, they opened fire immediately. Kyle ducked behind the charred computer console and began returning fire. The enemy began receiving losses, but they outnumbered Kyle and he knew it was a uphill battle. The whole time Connor was trying to make contact:

"Reese? What the hell is going on there?"

"I`ve been discovered. I`m pinned down under heavy fire, plotting an escape." Kyle responded.

Again John seemed to grow anxious. "I don`t care how, but you get yourself outta there this instant. Did you get a disk?"

"Of course, I'm no rookie." Said Kyle.

"Good. Just get out you`ve done enough." Connor said, a little relieved but still extremely worried.

Just then, as Kyle rose from behind his cover to fire again, an enemy round penetrated the outer shell of his shoulder pad, the fiery plasma cutting his shoulder. Reese winced and screamed in pain, but a burnt shoulder was the least of his problems. As he turned around, he saw another squad of T-800`s coming down the hallway he was facing. Now with enemies on both sides, his cover blown, he leapt from the platform the console was on, landing on the ground floor of the compound. This extraordinary feat would be hard on any ordinary man, but as a highly trained resistance fighter, Kyle knew exactly how to roll when he hit the ground. This, combined with the combat armor he wore, decreased the damage he suffered to some minor soreness. No time to think of that now, he just had to block out all his pain. He made a break for it, moving quickly out the exit while avoiding the hail of fire the guards on the above platform rained down upon him. He proceeded to make his way back to the chopper, firing back at the guards around the outside of the complex, whom he had cleverly avoided earlier. He got back to the ravine where the chopper was parked and was astounded to see a T-800 standing outside the helicopter. He fired a single shot, which upon contact caused the enemy`s head to explode in a blaze of sparks. He got up to the chopper, only to find his fears realized. Tex, the pilot had been killed, obviously the work of the now-dead terminator. Kyle reached in the chopper and threw Tex`s body into the back, taking the pilot`s seat for himself. While not a skilled veteran pilot as Tex was, Kyle had a basic knowledge of how the machine functioned. He took off and began to vacate the premises, thinking he had escaped. But, just as he thought himself safe, an air HK came up into his rear-view. The oncoming vehicle opened fire, and Reese began dodging to the best of his ability. Panicked, he radioed back into base. "Connor? This is Reese. I`ve lost my pilot and am being pursued by a bogey."

The traitorous lieutenant, still there at the base began his ranting again. "Y`see? There`s no way he getting out of there…"

Connor turned around, obviously angry. "Kate! Shut him the hell up so I can think here!"

As Kate quickly proceeded to pistol-whip the agitator, John looked at one of his air traffic controllers. "Are there any jet units in his vicinity?" Connor asked.

"Eagle squad is in that region, sir. They could intercept quickly." The soldier replied.

"Put me in touch with that squad!" said Connor. He soon heard a voice:

"This is Eagle 1. What`s the situation, over?"

"Eagle 1, this is John Connor. One of my men is within your reach, being pursued by an enemy HK. We`re sending you his coordinates, you are to intervene immediately. Also, I'm sending a separate set of coordinates to the rest of your squad, coordinates to a secret skynet facility also within your reach. They are to perform an immediate air strike, over."

The radio buzzed back to life "Copy that Connor. We have the coordinates, moving on to our assignments."

Connor added, "One more thing, Eagle 1. The man you`re going after is Kyle Reese."

There was a short pause, and then Eagle 1 responded, sounding suddenly more interested. "I understand sir."

"Why`d you tell them that?" asked Kate.

"Thought it`d put some pep in her step," he said. Then, turning, he added "Eagle 1`s an old friend of his."


	6. Chapter 6

Ch.6

Kyle was in a bad situation. He was a fair pilot, but incapable of winning an air battle his chopper had already suffered some damage, one more hit and we was doomed. The enemy HK got closer, locking Reese into its sights, preparing to open fire. At that moment, Kyle heard a jet engine. He turned his head to see a resistance fighter jet approaching from the south. Within seconds, the fighter had locked on to its target and fired a single, guided missile. As the HK exploded, Kyle`s radio again came to life.

"Kyle Reese, this is Eagle1. I`ll be guiding you back to base, over."

And so it was that the two aircraft began their return to resistance HQ. Meanwhile, the rest of Eagle squadron hailed a fiery rain of missiles on the enemy lab, blasting it off the map and leaving only debris. As Reese and Eagle 1 continued to fly, he radioed in to both Eagle 1 and base, saying:

"Eagle 1, Connor… I'm fine but the chopper suffered the damage. I`m gonna have to park it, I`m losing fuel, over."

"That`s fine with me," said Eagle 1, "there`s small settlement here in the desert, about a mile or so from here. They have ties to the resistance, we could sleep there tonight then I`ll refuel and we`ll fly back in the morning. That is, if that plan sits well with Connor, over."

"That`s fine." Connor responded, "As long as you both return in one piece, over."

And so they proceeded to that settlement, while miles away, back at the ruins of the skynet base, one single machine was still running. The large metal box Reese had discovered was now beeping with life, and only one image was alive within its mechanical brain, which had lost satellite connection with skynet. The image was a security photo, one of the young Kyle Reese. The door of the box unsealed and swung open, a large being stepping out of it. It looked, felt, even smelt human. It was the latest generation of terminator. The days of the T-600`s, with their easy to spot rubber masks, was over. The being was naked, but its computer brain had little concern over that. The only reason he would need clothes would be for blending in, and he had yet to encounter humans. But his files suggested the possibility of a human settlement nearby, a good place to search for his target. After all, the last image skynet had recorded before the bombing was of the enemy chopper, having taken great damage from the HK before it was destroyed. Surely Kyle would need to stop, for repairs. Yes that was his best option. Silently, he began walking at an inhuman pace through the desert, staring intently to the east, where the settlement was.

Finally, Kyle and Eagle 1 had landed at the settlement, a small collection of humans living together, in sort of a township. Kyle watched as the female pilot exited her aircraft. She was still wearing her helmet.

"Well," said Kyle, "you know my name, and I'd rather not go around calling you `Eagle 1' all night…"

"Well let`s see if you remember me then." said the female. She began to remove her helmet.

This was apparently someone he already knew, and for a second a thought passed through his head: could this be the woman from the picture?

It wasn`t. as she finished removing the helmet, Kyle sunk. It was not the woman from the photo, but he did recognize the face, although it took him a second to place her.

Finally, when he had figured it out, he exclaimed with surprise. "Star?"


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7

Reese was in shock. Star, the poor, shy little girl he had taken under his wing all those years ago, was all grown up. The past 11 years since he had last seen her had obviously turned her into quite a well-rounded soldier. Kyle had heard a rumor here or there about her progress, how she was a great warrior and an even greater pilot, but actually seeing her in the flesh after all this time was simply amazing to him. Overall, the sensation could be described that re-meeting Star and view ing her progress served to make him feel extremely old. And so like any old friends catching up, they spent hours talking in the underground tunnels. He told her about everything, from the time he had been drafted to Perry's unit, all those years ago, to how he had found himself in that air-battle. He desired desperately to tell her about the photo, to get it off of his chest, but it was top-secret, between him and Connor. She then went on to tell him about her training, how she had become a fair fighter, but it became very clear to Connor that she would make a excellent pilot. She had been given the opportunity to train under Blair Williams, the now infamous pilot who had befriended Marcus Wright all that time ago. She seemed to love to talk, which impressed Kyle because when he had known her last she never seemed to utter a word. But nobody could get by as a silent soldier, so she must have been forced out of her shell by pure necessity, just as every soldier learned their extra skills. What Kyle was unaware of is that she knew about the photo, that she was one of the ones Connor had recruited to assist on Reese`s final mission…

Meanwhile, a guard stood, keeping watch on the border between the small village and the harsh desert. They had been invaded by skynet before, and proven themselves to be quite defensible. He wore just standard issue of clothes, with a hood to help hide him in the shadows, if the need be. Suddenly, he saw a figure appearing through the darkness. It appeared to be a man, but…a naked man. The guard went up closer to the man, saying:

"Sir? You mind telling me why you`re naked?"

The man was silent.

"Were you attacked? Robbed? There are looters in the desert." Said the guard getting closer to the man.

Finally the man spoke: "I need your clothes."

"Well you can`t have these, but if you`ll come with me I can get you some…"

The guard was dead before he could finish his sentence. The terminator looked down, his hand having pierced the man`s stomach. He drug the body back to the guard`s tent, where he was lucky enough to find an extra shirt to replace the one which was now ripped and stained with blood. After having completely clothed himself, he searched through the guard`s cache of weapons. There he found a plasma Gatling gun, probably assembled from the remains of a destroyed HK. The new weapon in tow, he hooded himself, tucked the guard`s pistol into the back of his pants, and began walking toward the heart of the compound.

Star was now asleep somewhere in the underground village, and Kyle sat topside looking at the sea of debris. At one time some small town or city had been here, but now it looked like most of the once proud metropolitan areas. Chunks of concrete and twisted metal dominated the landscape. It was depressing, and it was all Kyle had known his whole life. Three soldiers came up to him from the darkness.

"Kyle Reese!" said one of them, "Would you like to come with us? An HK was spotted nearby."

Kyle did go with them. They settled underneath a pile of the debris and watched as an HK zoomed over head. It was not uncommon for them to go on late-night patrols, firing at anything that moves. Kyle`s radio was buzzing with life, various soldiers communicating over the same frequency. The HK was 750 meters north of their position, and Kyle thought he could pull off a shot. He fired, but no such luck. The HK didn`t even seem to notice the blast, and so it continued on its merry way. Kyle knew there was nothing he could do, he turned to the other soldiers, and with a "let`s go" they continued back toward the settlement. He banged on the door of the tunnels with his flashlight, and when the guards opened their peep hole, he gave them his access code.

"Reese. BN384…"

"Right." Said the head guard, "Let him in."

Reese walked through the compound, seeing the desperate looks on the people`s faces. Most civilians, especially those who remembered the world before the war, had given up all hope. Kyle continued down that hallway, even playing with a little boy who was imitating gunfire. One family sat, staring at a television. But there were no programs on these days. They had busted the screen out, gutted the TV, and used it as a fire place. This was the bleak reality that Reese lived in. Finally he found a spot to sit down, and as a group of people went around, searching for rats to cook, he pulled out the only thing that gave him comfort. And so once again he sat and stared at the picture. He observed her face. It was beautiful, but there was something peculiar about her expression, as if she was looking beyond what she could see…as if she saw something on the horizon. That`s when he heard the dogs barking. They had kept dogs to spot T-600 endos quicker than humans could, and he knew this meant trouble. He held the photo in his teeth and ducked, all the while hearing the screams of "Terminator! Terminator!". The monstrous machine was spraying the compound with blasts, killing everyone in its path. It even went so far as to silence the dogs for good. Sparks were flying, off of the wall and off of the people who were silenced forever. Kyle began firing at the machine, and dodging each blast that it fired in retaliation. However, there was an explosion behind him, where one of the machine`s shots had penetrated a barrel of fuel. Reese ducked to the ground, and in horror realized the picture was no longer clinched in his teeth. He looked up, to see his beloved photograph burn in one of the many fires spawned by the explosion. Many emotions flooded him, grief, the feeling of loss, but mostly anger. He looked at the oncoming terminator, which had taken a bit of damage in the fire fight so that it`s two mechanical red eyes were visible through the darkness. It continued to shower the hallway with blasts. Reese jumped up delivering a shot which knocked the machine`s Gatling gun right out of its hands. Now he finally got a good look at the creature. The old T-600`s had wore rubber masks which while easy to spot, were very deceiving from afar. These masks also were a ghostly image to behold, striking terror into the hearts of men. But this thing was different. It…had skin, and hair, and blood…if it hadn`t been for the dogs, he probably wouldn`t have been spotted until it was too late. Kyle raised his gun at pounded the thing with blast after blast, but the creature seemed to shake it off as it came closer. Blood and skin and hair and cloth were slung in all directions, until finally Reese had used up all of his gun`s plasma battery. Kyle threw his now useless weapon aside. The machine`s mechanical visors zoomed in on its target`s face. Finally, it had found Kyle Reese. It came closer, and closer, and closer. It`s entire top half was now unveiled for what it truly was. The glistening metal body, with only a few shred of skin left, and drenched in blood. It reached into the back of its pants, pulling out a pistol and aiming it at Reese. Kyle was completely helpless, and about to die, when Star jumped out of the shadows, pointing her gun at the back of the thing`s head. Sensing this new enemy, the monstrosity spun round, knocking her to the ground with its hand. It then pointed the gun down at her. Kyle was suddenly racked with flashbacks, of Luna and the face she had made when she fell limp to the ground. Determined not to lose another team mate, Kyle noticed the terminator`s Gatling gun laying on the ground and he dove to grab it. He came to his feet, and just as the machine began to clench its trigger, he fired. The machine was blasted with a barrage of blasts, dropping his pistol (which exploded into pieces before it hit the ground, also a victim of Kyle`s fire.) Metal pieces flew everywhere as the thing went down in a blaze of glory. Kyle continued spraying his body with hot plasma until there was literally nothing left of him, and kept firing on anyway. He was a man possessed, completely overtaken with both grief and anger and pure malice towards skynet and all its creations. Finally, the gun just couldn`t fire anymore, and Kyle slumped to the ground, lost in thought. The photo was all he had dear in the world, and now, like Luna, it was gone.

Author`s note:

I know this chapter is a little long and wordy, hope it didn`t lose anyone`s interest :/


	8. Chapter 8

Author`s note:

After some more research, yes Star WAS mute in T4. I take full responsibility for this mistake, but it`s too late to do anything now, so for the purposes of this story Star was just shy :/

Ch.8

The next day, Kyle and Star flew silently back to base. As Reese sat there in the cockpit behind Star, he reflected on the events of the night before. He thought about many things, but most of all he thought about his loss. He would never see the photo again; he had committed it to memory, but as time went on that would fade. He was a realist. He had to be. The anger which had driven him to the end of his mental sanity remained, just as strong as ever. He wished he could bring the terminator back to life, just so he could kill it again. Such a dark feeling was foreign to him, not grief, not sadness, but a pure malice which had never stirred in him before. It had frightened him, and he could tell it had frightened Star. Finally, they touched down on the HQ landing strip. A group of soldiers were waiting to escort them to the infirmary, where Kyle received treatment for his burnt shoulder and for all the bumps and bruises associated with strenuous physical activity. Later that day, John Connor came to visit Kyle in his room.

"My medics tell me you are healing quickly." Said Connor, a look of concern and relief on his face.

"Yeah." Kyle said, still in deep thought.

Connor seemed to stir uncomfortably, as if he was trying to word something with absolute correctness. Finally, he said "Star told me about your meltdown. Anything you`d like to talk about?"

Kyle`s awkward silence made it painfully obvious to John that he did not want to talk. "Alright then, I'll be going now, leave you to your healing…"

But just as Connor reached the door, Reese spoke. "I lost it in the firefight."

Connor turned back to face Kyle. "Lost what?"

"The photo you gave me, of the woman" said Reese "It burned. I couldn`t save it."

Reese wasn`t sure why he had felt compelled to tell Connor that, but that's when he noticed something peculiar. There came a look of grief in John`s eyes, as if he had lost as much if not more than Reese. Kyle had fallen in love with the photo and, perhaps selfishly, he forgot to think what the picture had meant to Connor. "That`s alright…" said John, beginning to turn toward the door once more.

"Before you go," said Kyle, "who was the woman? In the photo? You don`t have to tell me, but I'd like to know."

There was a pause, and then John Connor turned and looked Kyle right in the eye. "She was…my mother, Sarah Connor." said John.

At that minute Kyle finally understood what it was about John`s eyes that were so familiar…they were HER eyes. Reese sat there, a look of astounded wonder on his face as Connor left the room. Then a terrible realization came to him- Sarah Connor had been dead for years. He was never to meet her, and the anger which had overtaken him was replaced by pure sadness.

John returned to his quarters, and Kate could tell he was bothered. "What`s wrong?" she asked.

"The time displacement technology, the plans we hacked from skynet…It`s finally happening. Tomorrow`s the day, and after everything that happened yesterday…" Connor stopped, for once unable to put his emotions into words.

"First of all," answered Kate, "you can`t blame yourself for yesterday. You were right to send Reese in. He`s the best you`ve got, and nobody else would have done half as well. So it didn't go as planned, what does anymore? Point is you did the right thing, and you`ll do the same tomorrow."

John was unconvinced. "No matter what you say, it doesn`t change the fact that tomorrow I have to give my father a death sentence."

"I know it`s hard for you, I know." said Kate, "But you have no choice. The paradox must be maintained, or humanity dies. And besides, think of your mother. She needs to meet her true love."

Connor looked at Kate, lovingly. She always managed to make him feel better, no matter what the situation. He reached for her, remembering the first time they had kissed, all those years ago the day before he met his first terminator. He was about to lay her down, when his door bust open. The untimely intruder was Dr. Stranz, a resistance scientist.

"Dr. Stranz" Connor said, rather grouchily, "you better have something for me."

"I do sir" said Stranz, "the artificial heart you had us commission is finished. We are now prepared and capable to resurrect Marcus Wright."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch.9

John rushed to the lab, where Kyle Reese was waiting for him.

"You sent a summons for me?" asked Kyle.

"Yes. I thought you`d be interested in what we`re doing here today." Connor responded, "Dr. Stranz, take it from here."

Kyle had only met Dr. Leroy Stranz once before, he was a research/development scientist, helping to study and imitate skynet weapons, even inventing new weapons to give the resistance an edge in combat. He was a short fat man, balding as the years went on. He waddled over to his console and pressed a button, and a platform came down from the ceiling. There was on that platform some sort of mass, but it was not visible as it was covered by a tarp. With a wave of his hands, his Dr. Stranz`s assistants removed the tarp. Kyle gasped, while Connor seemed extremely pleased. On the platform was a lab table, and laying there on the slab was the cyborg body of Marcus Wright, it`s chest open.

"Y`see," began the good doctor, "after the events of 2018, we decided to keep Marcus`s body for our research. His basic skynet wiring is truly a wonder to behold. Part of this process was the scanning of his cybernetic brain link-up, and about a month ago we found this…" The Dr. proceeded to press another button on his console, and suddenly on the projector screen an image appeared. It was like a bar graph, but the bars kept moving up and down.

"What is it?" asked Kyle.

"Brain waves." Connor said, "When Marcus gave me his heart, he didn`t die, as we`d thought. Instead, his computerized cerebral cortex saved his last thoughts, basically putting him in a sleep mode. He`s spent all this time locked in a dream these eleven years. But now we can resurrect him."

Kyle was blown away. To see Marcus after all that time, just as he had been before. His body had not decomposed in the slightest, in fact the skin he had lost in battle had grown back, except for his chest were the scientists had opened him up. Reese felt pity for him, he had lost his humanity and even failed to die, something many can do with little effort. Then there was this idea of Marcus being stuck in a dream for eleven years…Kyle had trouble imagining that, because do to the environment he had grown up in, all his dreams had turned to nightmares.

"Dr. Stranz, you may proceed." Connor said.

The doctor pressed a third button on his console, and a robotic crane arm came down from the ceiling, holding the robotic heart. The little machine would regulate Marcus's blood as a regular heart would. But it would never fail. The installation was quick, precise, and well calculated. Within seconds it was inside him, and his chest quickly closed to accommodate it. There was a moment of silence where it seemed like nothing was to happen at all. But then Marcus's eyes opened, and he gasped for air (although he no longer needs it, but it was a reflex for him.) and jumped up straight, his eyes wide with surprise. He looked down at his hands, just staring in disbelief. John approached him, saying:

"Marcus! You`re back!"

Marcus stared at him for a second then asked "I thought I was dead."

"Well you weren't…" John started, "well you were in a manner of speaking we`ll explain it later, the point is you`re back. We`ve resurrected you."

Marcus`s face twitched, almost angrily. And that`s when Marcus Wright attacked John Connor.

Author`s note:

Sorry. Another cliff hanger. But they`re easy to write and I'm still working on the next sequence. (and no I'm not turning Marcus evil there`s some character development brewing here.)


	10. Chapter 10

Author`s note:

Sorry it took me a long time to write this one, I was kinda busy.

Ch.10

Marcus leapt at Connor, grabbing him round the neck. As he raised his fist back, he suddenly heard a dozen clicking noises. As he looked around the room, he was looking down the barrels of all their guns, even Dr. Stranz had pulled out a small pistol.

"Relax, everyone." Connor started, "I`m sure our friend Marcus is just…confused."

Marcus looked Connor in the eye. "Connor…can I speak to you? In private?"

Connor smiled, saying "Of course."

All the men lowered their guns immediately, except Kyle, who was hesitant. Finally, Marcus and John made their way to a more private room. Marcus grabbed Connor by the shoulders, slammed him against the wall and said "what`s going on here?"

John seemed confused. "I`m sorry? What exactly are you asking?"

The question only seemed to anger him more. "I`m dead! I sacrificed myself to save your ass!"

"That`s what we thought too," said Connor, "but in reality you weren`t you were in….how did the good doctor put it….a sleep mode. I don`t know what happened to you in that place, but it was a dream. An automated dream created to keep your mind busy while your body rested."

Marcus`s hands eased up on Connor`s shoulders as he seemed to grow sad. "How long Connor…how long was I in there? Time was…irrelevant there."

"Eleven years. Welcome to the year 2029." As Connor said it, he watched the powerful Marcus Wright break down. The man slumped down the wall, and if his cyborg body could`ve produced tears, this would`ve been the time.

"Even so…" said Marcus "dream or not, fake or not, I was happy there…it was...an end for me, y`know? I`d like very much to go back…"

"You can." said Connor. "If that`s what you want, we can return you to that sleep mode. But first, I brought you back for a reason. Now you don`t have to do anything you don`t want to do, but tomorrow, Kyle Reese, your friend, has got a mission. Perhaps the biggest mission of his life, a mission he was born to do. But he`s not going it alone. I`ve assembled a team of sorts….me, Star, you remember her…and a man named Perry, whom also has a stake in Kyle`s path. We will be assisting him on that mission, and I want you on that team. Eleven years ago, Kyle helped you fulfill your destiny. All I'm asking is that you consider returning the favor."

Kyle stood in the lab with all the other men, wondering what was happening in that room. Finally, John Connor and Marcus Wright came out, side by side. Connor looked over at Reese, saying "Get Star and meet us in the briefing room, ASAP." And so Kyle did go get Star, and they proceeded to the briefing room. Kyle was shocked when he walked in to see Sgt. Perry sitting there, having a conversation with Marcus.

"Perry!" Kyle exclaimed, having not seen him for two years.

"Well…." said Perry, "if it ain`t Kyle Reese! I was just telling Marcus here about some of the developments over the past eleven years… It`s quite an honor to meet him, such a celebrity…"

Just then John and Kate Connor entered the room. "Silence!" he said. Then, pausing, he added "Let`s begin. Our young soldier Kyle recently discovered skynet files indicating the invention of…in its own words… 'time displacement technology'. That may sound impossible, but my scientists have assured me the theories expressed in the files seem air-tight. The plan behind the device is simple…skynet has realized that we humans have weakened it enough to pose a serious threat, and therefore they need to weaken us. Basically, they calculated that by assassinating certain targets in the past, they can alter the future."

"My god." said Perry. "but who`s the target in the past?"

Suddenly Kyle was racked with an awful fear. He looked up at Connor, hoping that John wouldn`t say the words he knew were coming. But it was inevitable. "The target," said John, "is my mother, Sarah Connor."

Everyone in the room gasped, but none were as devastated as Kyle. Star wondered what all this had to do with Reese, as Connor had told her the mission was about him. Perry and Marcus quietly wondered the same thing. The rest of the meeting was as follows: Connor went on to elaborate how skynet was going to initiate its plan tomorrow, at skynet central. The plan was simple, really. Star would lead the rest of Eagle squadron on an air strike against skynet`s forward defenses. This would distract the machines enough for Connor, Marcus, Perry, and Kyle to enter the enemy base, were they would attempt to destroy the time-displacement technology, as well as insert a virus into skynet`s brain which would prevent it from ever targeting Sarah again. It was a solid plan, and so they all went to rest in preparation. As he lay awake in bed, Kyle realized what he must do: he would save the love of his life, even if it had to be done from across time and space.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch.11

John and Kate Connor were walking from the briefing room to their quarters, having just concluded the meeting and knowing full and well the dangerous task before them the following day. Kate seemed bothered, as if some question loomed in the recesses of her mind. John picked up on this, and asked "Is something wrong, dear?"

"Yes," said Kate, "you withheld information from them. We both know that the mission will fail. The terminator will go back in time and Reese will have to chase it. Why didn`t you tell them?"

Connor stopped, trying to put it into words. "It`s because…" he said, "of something Kyle told my mother in the past. He told her… that he had volunteered for the job. He has to get that opportunity, I can`t assign him to it. Every detail of my past must remain the same, or we create an alternate timeline and our existences are re-written. Remember your own words- 'the paradox must be maintained'. You have no idea how correct you were."

This answer seemed to satisfy her questions, and they continued the walk to their quarters.

The next morning, everyone prepared for the mission. They were all awake on time, (except for Kyle, who awoke especially early, despite having gotten little sleep the night before) and arrived at the exit bay completely punctually (except, of course, for Kyle who managed to get there uncharacteristically and almost inhumanly early). The rest of the team was amazed at his determination, and although they were unsure why this particular mission was so important for him, he and John clearly understood it, which was enough to reassure them all. Kyle had been down a roller coaster ride these past two days, not only did he lose the photograph, effectively losing his great love, he had also learned her identity. She had been Sarah Connor, a woman who was an absolute legend in his time. This had been a huge emotional blow to him, since not only was she dead (and had been for years) but she was also the mother of John Connor, a man he respected more than anyone else in the world. He had almost been angry at John, for he was told she would be his greatest mission some day, yet he would clearly never meet her. But now it was all so clear to him. He would save his love, even if she would never know of him or his struggles. This would, however have a damper on his and John`s relationship. John had given him the photo eleven years ago, therefore he must have been anticipating skynet`s moves for some time. He had obviously never intended for Reese to fall in love with his mother, but Reese had, nevertheless. Kyle could not, and would not, ever tell him. Little did he know that it had all been going exactly as Connor had expected. The away team (John, Kyle, Perry, and Marcus) loaded onto a helicopter, which Connor would pilot. Meanwhile, Star and Eagle Squadron left first. The ride was quiet, as Perry tried to make conversation, but it fell short because Kyle and Marcus were both lost in thought, and Connor was focused on his pilot duties. Kate had stayed behind in the command center, overseeing the operation in Connor`s stead. As they began to approach skynet central, which had been rebuilt after 2018, stronger than ever, Eagle Squad prepared for their air-raid on the forward bunkers. Connor and the others were on the ground by this time, approaching the forward defense grid. They were just waiting for the word from Kate.

Suddenly, Dr. Stranz burst into the command center, bleeding heavily from a wound in his chest.

"What`s going on?" asked Kate.

"It`s him!" exclaimed the doctor, "That young lieutenant that Connor busted for the attempted AWOL. He`s escaped his bondage and is now ransacking my lab!"

With that, Dr. Stranz collapsed to the floor. Kate looked at the men in the room, saying "Get a medic! Now!" she then ran to the laboratory, where she found the young lieutenant hacking the computer.

"What are you doing?" she asked, drawing her gun.

He looked at her, smiling as he said, "I`ve given skynet control of their satellite back. I`ve also sent it a copy of Connor`s plan, as my grand revenge."

"Are you insane?" she asked, "If skynet succeeds John will never be born! You`ll doom the whole world for your revenge!"

"We don`t need him!" yelled the soldier, "Y`see, as you know before 2018 Connor was not in control of the resistance, rather a group of former military generals. But he was not their only pet. They were quite fond of me, and if it weren`t for Connor seizing power, I would have claimed leadership of the resistance after their deaths. But now it will have happened! You know how quickly skynet operates; it's probably already calculated a counter-offensive. Connor will fail! Sarah Connor will die, history will be re-written, and I shall be humanity`s glorious leader in an alternate timeline which I created!"

He would say no more. Kate`s blast shot through his head in the blink of an eye, and his body fell to the ground beside his brain matter which was reduced to a pulp. When a group of soldiers came to see what was happening, her only words to them were "Clean up this mess." Kate hurried back to the command center, determined that the madman`s plans would not succeed. Meanwhile, Star was about to start the air raid when she saw something on the horizon. A large number of air HK`s, coming at them full speed. "Oh shit." she said. At that moment John got a call from Kate.

"Get going! And hurry, skynet knows you`re coming!"

John looked back at his now terrified soldiers, saying "Well it looks like our jobs just got harder."


	12. Chapter 12

Ch.12

They hurried down the empty corridor, Kyle and Perry. They were moving with a silent determination. After resisting heavily laden defenses and fighting a legion of T-800`s, the whole team had breached the compound. The Time Lab was at the end of a locked corridor, which required two keys, each stored at different places in the facility. John had suggested they split to acquire the keys, and so Kyle and Perry went one way while John and Marcus went another. Ever since the call from Kate, this mission had been a headache. Skynet knew they were coming, and was using full force to stop them. Still Reese moved as a man possessed, a silent determination which Perry had only ever seen in the machines he fought.

"You know," said Perry, "you`re entirely too serious all the time."

Kyle seemed annoyed. "This is a serious mission, all of humanity at stake, etc."

"Well yes, Perry elaborated, "but when I knew you, even on the toughest mission you could find something to smile about."

"That`s because I had hope… and comfort." Kyle said.

"What happened to it?" asked Perry.

Reese thought then about her…the photo…and its fate. "Same thing that happens to everything in our crazy, messed up time" he said, "it burned."

They saw a room now at the end of the hallway. "That`s where our key will be."

They entered that room, and yes the key was there, but so were a large number of T-800`s. the machines turned around to greet the humans, raising their weapons. Perry laughed a little to himself, raising his weapon and saying to Reese: "Just like old times, isn`t it?" That was the first time all day that Kyle Reese smiled.

Meanwhile, John and Marcus were busy going through their portion of the complex, another long hallway. They went through a door, and raised their weapons immediately. Standing in front of them was a large machine, obviously primitive. "The hell is this clunker?" asked Marcus.

Connor laughed. "That`s an old T-1. Haven`t seen these slow-mo`s in a long time. Damn I miss em` though." He put down his weapon, saying "Looks like a storage facility for outdated machines."

John`s assessment was correct. There was only one T-1 in the room, most of it was occupied by about a dozen or so shut-down T-600`s. there were however a few even older models, some T-100`s, 200`s, and even 400`s. It was as if this building was the famous evolution of man picture, but with machines.

"Nice to meet a few of my ancestors." said Marcus, drawing a laugh or two from Connor. The one machine Marcus remembered the most was standing in the back, though. "Hey!" he said, "It's a giant Terminator, like the one that attacked me and Reese in 2018!"

"It`s called a harvester." Connor said, "It`s function, as stated in its name, was to harvest people."

"That`s one thing I never understood…if skynet`s determined to exterminate humanity, why capture them? Labor?" asked Marcus.

"No. For experimentation. I often wondered the same thing, but now I think it was part of their efforts to learn how to manufacture human skin…all part of the plans for the T-101." said Connor.

"Yeah…Perry was telling me about those…but why are they so new? Wasn`t it one of them that we fought in 2018?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah…" said Connor, "but we blew up their facility, and it was their only prototype. We probably just set skynet back a few years."

"Too bad…" Marcus said, "if we`d done a better job they wouldn`t exist at all."

John stopped. "I`m afraid not… if there`s one thing I've learned, it`s that SOME things are inevitable."

Marcus analyzed John`s face, saying "You`re like Reese. Poor kid seems to have so much on his mind. Whole other person than I knew."

"You too." said John. "Ever since your revival… what was that dream world of yours like?"

Marcus smiled. "It was… our world, John. The world before skynet, before Judgment Day, back when things made since…and I got a second chance, all the sins of my life were erased. It was better than our old world; in fact… everything was perfect. I really thought it was heaven for awhile. And I lived there, a normal, human, happy life for 11 years…"

John was astonished. The thing Marcus had just described summed up all the wishes of every human who had lived before 2003. No wonder he had been upset to be pulled back into this shitty reality. Marcus looked at Connor, adding a question: "After all this, if I go back…will the dream pick up where it left off?"

Connor had no idea, of course. "I-I don`t…"

He didn`t have to finish the sentence. Marcus slumped, the same look on his face he had in that room. "Does it matter?" asked John, "Can`t you just start over again like…"

"NO!" Marcus yelled, angrily. He once again strained to cry, but his body couldn`t create tears. "Kids, John. I…I had kids there."

Suddenly John found the deepest sympathy for this man. His life was indeed a tragedy, of the worst variety. "I`m sorry… now I fully understand your anguish…"

Marcus suddenly got focused, desiring to change the subject. "I see the key." he said.

And there it stood, in the center of the huge room, on a small platform. Something didn`t seem right to John. This key wasn`t very well protected…and why put it here? That`s when it hit him. Skynet was a computer. It worked on logic. And why keep old machines that could be melted down for more metal? The logic was flawed…. "It`s a trap!" John yelled, but Marcus had already grabbed the key. Suddenly, every old machine in the room jumped to life.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch.13

The T-800 laid there, the last of its kind still operational in that room. Kyle fired a single shot, destroying it. As Perry grabbed the key, he said to himself "I wonder if Connor and Marcus had as much trouble."

At that moment, John and Marcus were locked in combat with all the outdated machines in the room. The huge harvester grabbed Connor, prepared to crush him. Marcus saw this happening, and quickly he grabbed the nearby T-1, ripping off its Gatling gun arm and using it to destroy the behemoth`s hand, causing it to drop John. As he fell, John attached a det pack to the giant machine, and after a quick roll to avoid injury he activated the switch, causing the harvester`s huge top half to explode. The machine fell backwards, taking out the huge concrete and steel wall, letting the sunlight permeate the room. Marcus, still holding the Gatling gun, sprayed the hoard of machines with fire, each of them falling in turn. Once it looked as if he had them all, he dropped the gun. "I think I got em` all" he said, and at that moment a T-600, it`s legs destroyed, jumped up from the ground, tackling him to the ground. Marcus was suddenly looking down the barrel of a loaded plasma rifle. Just as he thought himself about to die, the machine was hit by a barrage of gunfire, and it rolled off of Marcus. He had never been so grateful to see John Connor. This bonding moment was ruined however, when the first words out of John`s mouth were "Is the key ok?"

And so both parties began their return to the center of the facility. Meanwhile, Star and the rest of Eagle squad were still locked in combat with the wave of air HK`s. The dog fight was one the likes of which had never been seen. Already three of the opposing forces had fallen, while Eagle squadron was yet to take a single casualty. This is why they were the resistance`s most elite team of fly-boys. When there was an air mission that no one could be trusted with, they were Connor`s choice. Suddenly Star`s radio buzzed to life, it was Kate: "Eagle 1, progress report, over?"

"The battle is in our favor, over." Star said, while launching a missile at an enemy. It missed.

"Good to hear. Keep me posted, over." said Kate.

"Will do, over." As the words left her mouth, Star re-aimed at the enemy which she was pursuing, this time blowing it to hell.

Inside, both groups had returned to the locked door. After sharing short versions of the dangers they had faced, Marcus and Perry inserted the keys into the control consoles, and the huge locked blast door opened. But there would be no advancing. There was a thin film of energy blocking the hallway, and when Reese attempted to plow through it he was knocked on his ass. "The hell is it?" he asked.

"Looks like a force-field to me." said Connor.

"A force-field? Is that even possible?" asked Perry.

"Ummm" said Marcus, "we`re here to stop a sophisticated super computer from changing history through time travel, and I, a former human now turned cyborg, can`t seem to stay dead. I`d say anything`s possible."

John ran to a nearby wall console and hacked it, a skill he had used on ATM`s as a kid. He then radioed in to Kate. "Hey honey we`ve encountered a little problem here but there is an electrical generator outside and if Eagle squad could take care of it we might still be able to save humanity….sending you the coordinates, thanks…over."

Not a minute later Star`s radio again buzzed to life. "Eagle 1, this is HQ again, John has a target he needs taken care of, could you leave the battle and run a little side mission for us? I`ve sent you the coordinates, over."

"No biggy, HQ. Beginning side mission now, over." Star said. She veered away from the battle, heading due east. The generator was at the end of a canyon, on the top of a small ledge. But one of the enemy HK`s pursued her, spraying fire. Her left wing was hit, and she was losing fuel. "HQ! HQ! I'm taking heavy damage!" she screamed.

"Do you require assistance?" asked Kate.

That`s when Star saw something. The canyon walls got extremely narrow up ahead. "No, HQ. I think I`ve got it." She turned the plane sideways, allowing her to fit through the tight opening. But as the HK exploded on impact behind her, the tightly closed rock walls scraped her jet, causing even more damage. She escaped the crevice, but with serious damage. All her gauges were in the red, all her lights flashing. She spotted the target, but when she attempted to launch missile, she discovered that her launching system had been taken out. The situation was bad, and she knew what she would have to do. She radioed back to Kate once more.

"HQ, this is Eagle 1… I don`t think I`m gonna make it."

As her plane crashed into the target, the explosion rocked the tight canyon walls. Inside, the force-field disappeared. Celebration from the men was cut short however, when Kate came through the radio:

"John, I-I think we just lost Star."


	14. Chapter 14

Ch.14

"HQ, this is Eagle 1… I don`t think I`m gonna make it."

As her plane crashed into the target, the explosion rocked the tight canyon walls. Inside, the force-field disappeared. Celebration from the men was cut short however, when Kate came through the radio:

"John, I-I think we just lost Star."

The mood was suddenly somber. Kyle especially was devastated at the thought of losing another teammate. As he thought about Star, he also remembered Luna and even Tex the helicopter pilot. He had failed to save them all, what made him think he could save Sarah? He was about ready to call it all quits when suddenly their radios buzzed once again:

"Transmitting on all channels…this is Eagle 1, sorry if I scared you guys."

Kyle was in shock. "Star?"

"How did you survive?" asked Kate, in shock herself.

"My ejector seat activated last minute. Do you have my coordinates?"

"Yes we do" said Kate, "I`ll send a helicopter to retrieve you."

John Connor looked at the others, saying "Alright you heard that, Star`s fine. We`re all relieved, but we can`t afford to waste any time."

They all knew he was right of course, and so they proceeded down the corridor. At last, they had reached the Time Lab. It was a large circular room, and in the middle a circular platform surrounded by four machines which looked like high-tech Tesla coils. And on that platform stood a monstrosity knelt down on his knees, preparing for the journey through time.

"NO!" yelled Kyle. But it was too late. A T-800 which stood behind a console flipped a switch, and the room suddenly blazed with energy. The four Tesla coils shot out beams of pure energy, which surrounded the T-101 in a bubble of said energy. The bubble surged with an electrical charge, and immediately after it disappeared from sight, taking the terminator with it. Kyle had never felt like such a failure in his entire career. First the anger came. He aimed his gun and with but a squeeze watched the T-800`s head explode in a blaze of sparks. Then came the grief, and the sorrow. He slumped to the ground, unsure what to say. He had failed, Sarah would die. Then Perry said something peculiar.

"There`s something wrong here… nothing`s changed."

Kyle jumped up. He was right. John Connor still stood there, not erased from history. Reality had not altered.

"What does it mean?" asked Marcus.

"It means…" said Kyle, "That there must still be a way to stop this." He turned, facing John. "Skynet used this to send an agent back through time. Can we do the same?"

Perry stepped forward, saying "Whoa, wait a minute Kyle. What are you suggesting?"

"I`ll do it." said Kyle. "Send me back, Connor. I`m the best you got."

"Listen, Reese." said Connor, "I can`t send you back uninformed. There are a few things you must know. First of all, you can`t take any weapons back through time with you."

"Why can`t he?" asked Perry.

"Because skynet is very calculating about this." said Connor, "They don`t want the time travel to have any un expected complications. To that end, weapons and clothing cannot go through time, only living organisms. The machine is programmed that way. All clothing and metal objects, be it a gun or a piece of armor, will disintegrate immediately."

Marcus spoke up then. "But the terminator is metal!"

"Surrounded by living tissue." Connor said, "the blood, hair, skin….it`s all real, grown in a lab. It acts as a shield, protecting the machine underneath."

Reese entered the dialogue, saying "I get it. When I arrive in the past, I`ll be naked like the terminator. Is that all?"

John shook his head. "No, there`s one more thing. And this is the part that may stop you from going. There is no return. Once you go back through time, you`re stuck there. If you succeed in your mission, you will have to start a new life."

Perry and Marcus, both astounded by these revelations, stared at Kyle, waiting to hear his reply. Finally, he spoke. "I`ll do it."

And so the preparations began. Perry began observing the console, deciphering how to operate it. Meanwhile Marcus stood at a nearby security station, watching the surveillance footage and looking out for enemy movements. While they did that, Connor pulled Kyle aside. "Alright Reese, one more thing. History quiz. What year did Judgment day happen?"

"2003, of course." Replied Reese.

"Right. But when you meet my mother, you have to lie. Tell her this: Judgment day happens on August 29, 1997. You got that?"

"Yes sir." said Reese, "But why?"

"Just trust me," said Connor, "you must tell her that understand?"

Kyle saw the seriousness in John`s eyes, and he had never been led astray by Connor, so he replied "Yes sir I understand. Anything else I should tell her?"

"Yes. The resistance motto, the one I made you memorize."

"No fate but what we make?" asked Kyle.

"Yes. Kyle, it is very important that you tell her that. You may very well die on this mission, but if you do make damn sure you`ve told her these things before then." John said, with an air of urgency.

Just then Perry chimed in. "I think I`ve figured this thing out."

Kyle walked to the center of the platform. So many things were on his mind. What had he got himself into? But while he was nervous, he was also very determined. He would save Sarah. Perry put his finger on the switch. "Good luck, kid." he said. And the great John Connor saluted Reese, a hero among men. Kyle knelt down, just as the terminator had. He was taking no chances. Perry flipped the switch, and once again the machine kicked to life. The four beams of light shot out at Reese, creating an energy bubble identical to the one they had seen before. Just as John had prophesied, all of Reese`s clothes and weapons disintegrated, and a naked Kyle was awaiting the journey. The energy bubble was like a cannon ball, punching a hole in space and time and taking Reese with it. Time was like a vortex, and Kyle had the feeling as if he was in the eye of a hurricane or a tornado. His only thoughts were "Hold on, Sarah. I`m coming for you."

After watching his father disappear through the time vortex, John Connor used all his strength in order to hide his emotions. He had spent much of his childhood wishing he could meet his father. Finally, in 2018 he had met Kyle Reese, a teenager but still very much a kid inside. It had been John`s duty to whip him into shape, and he had created a fine soldier. And although it killed him inside, John knew that everything he had done had been absolutely necessary. And it brought him some meager happiness to know that the story of Kyle Reese, his father, a story of love and turmoil and war and of a cruel paradox, had indeed come full circle.

Author`s note:

That`s pretty much all of the story, but there will be a short epilogue.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Kyle sat up in bed. The small motel was no five star hotel, but he liked the dirt and the grime. It reminded him of home. He looked over at Sarah, lying beside him. Her naked body glistened in the moonlight. He was so confused. Did this make him John`s father? Or was he destined to die, and Sarah's next lover would produce the hero of the future? He looked down at her stomach, wondering if there was a life growing there. It would of course explain how John always knew what was coming, before it even came. The soldiers believed he was psychic, but time travel was a far more acceptable to him. This strange twist of fate was amazing to him; it really messed with his head. The events that had taken place since he had arrived were amazingly frightening to him. He had faced terminators day after day in the future, but with 1980`s technology, he knew this terminator would be the hardest fight of his life. They were prepared to the best of their ability, having made seven simple plastique explosives. There was a dog outside the motel, so they would know if it approached. He had played his role in Connor`s preparations perfectly, telling her the false date and the resistance motto. He knew that he could die, but he would at least manage to save Sarah, if nothing else. He loved her, and if necessary he would be happy to die to protect her.


End file.
